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Dave Douglas - Trumpet, Adam Benjamin - Rhodes, Gene Lake - Drums. Marcus Strickland - Saxophones, Brad Joes - Bass, DJ Olive - Turntables. Moonshine, the newest album from trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas' Grammy-nominated band Keystone, is an album that moves musical genres forward into uncharted territory. The evolutionary/revolutionary aspect is found in the vibrant alchemy between Douglas' avant-garde leaning compositions, the relentless, polyrhythmic funk of drummer Gene Lake and bassist Brad Jones, the Sun-Ra-esque sonics of Adam Benjamin who plays a highly modulated Fender Rhodes and the post-post blowing of the front line featuring Douglas and saxophonist Marcus Strickland. But what puts this one over the top is the true integration of a DJ, in this case DJ Olive, into the constantly shifting improvisations of a cutting edge band. Rolling Stone called Keystone's 2005's self titled album, "a modernist requiem." Moonshine takes it a step further: a modernist recipe for the future sound of electronics, jazz, and new composition. "I think of it as Green Beat," says Douglas with a grin, referring to the organic way that the rhythms of vinyl, laptop, and drum set coalesce in this infectious, grooving new album. One forgets all the elements that go into this hybrid music, as each piece amounts to a masterpiece of modern jazz-informed composition and performance. There are many details buried in these tracks, and perhaps the most remarkable thing is that the basis for this recording was a single performance in front of a live studio audience. The state-of-the-art mutli-track recording of this session makes possible a hybrid of the best parts of studio isolation and live excitement. It allowed Greenleaf Music to raise to the highest level the post-production of these recordings.

A few fans may find Latin roots-pop pioneer Lila Downs' return to old-fashioned, romantic ranchera music to be a retrograde move, but her commanding presence and the astonishing skill and economy with which she embellishes these old-school Mexican ballads with modern rock, electronica and even a tasteful dash of hip-hop will blow your mind, if you give it a close listen. Similarly, she weaves in the rich rhythms of Cuban son and Central American cumbia, reconciling and uniting several strands of Latin American popular music. The repertoire blends striking originals with classics from Jose Alfredo Jimenez, while Downs' dark, husky vocals give more than a mild nod towards the great Mexican diva, Lola Beltran, while Tex-Mex accordionist Flaco Jimenez anchors the album in a solid border vibe. You have to be willing to get into the style (and not everyone is, including plenty of folks who listen to other kinds of Latin American music...) But if you give it a chance, this is a pretty cool album, particularly how it points the way to a canny revitalization and modernization of one of the hemisphere's liveliest and most musically conservative genres. Oh, and Downs' old fans will not be disappointed: she's as authoritative, innovative and charismatic here as on anything she's done.

Top 50 Jazz Albums for Week of 15 Aug 2011 | http://t.co/0uG9wOq | @ElementsOfJazz #Jazz Blog

A full streaming album of country blues from Jaq, thanks to Magnatune. Listen. If you like, please buy.

Aaron Goldberg, Bill Carrothers, Dawn of Midi, Fred Hersch, Vijay Iyer, Danilo Perez, Dan Tepfer...

12 best albums (editor-selected) in given genres/categories!

Avant-Garde Jazz albums

Album listings for inspiration in playlist creation....

Why Magnatune is not evil: We work directly with independent musicians world-wide to give you downloads of MP3s and perfect-quality WAV files. We never work with major labels, and our musicians always get 50%. You can listen to every album in its entirety before buying or becoming a member.

"Explore Rembetika music at National Geographic World Music. Discover key Rembetika artists and albums at the online home of world music. ... Rembetika is Greece's urban music par excellence. ... The roots of rembetika come from Asia Minor cities like Smyrna (Izmir) and Constantinople ..."

Egyptian native Hossam Ramzy is the leader and chief percussionist of Pharaoh's Egyptian Ensemble, best known to Western listeners as the backing group featured on Robert Plant and Jimmy Page's No Quarter tour and album. Ramzy began playing the darabouka (Egyptian tabla) at a young age, much to his father's dismay. He moved to Saudi Arabia as a teenager, learning his craft while supporting himself by playing trap drums for radio and television programs.

Some albums can be downloaded free. Discography: Elements of One, Weaving Symbolics, Lucidarium, Invisible Paths, Tao of Mad Phat, Way of the Cipher, Def Trance Beat, Rhythm in Mind, Sonic Language of Myth, and more...

Yair Dalal, born in 1955; composer, violinist, oud player and singer; is probably the most prolific Israeli ethnic musician and plays an important role in shaping the global world music scene. Over the last decade he has put 11 albums, covering wide and varied cultural territory, and authentically representing Israel's cultures and fusing them through music as whole. Much of Dalal's work reflects his extensive musical skills in both classical and Arabic music and also reflects a strong affinity he has for the desert and its habitants. Dalal's family came to Israel from Baghdad and his Iraqi roots are embedded in his musical work.

http://www.cumbancha.com/albums/umalali/ ... Cumbancha Records, Charlotte Vermont USA

Six of the seven songs in "Qin Show" use silk strings created using ancient techniques discovered only a year ago, thus maintaining historical accuracy in its timbre. The last song of the album uses steel strings to provide comparison to the sound of the

Anna Guo (Guo Min-qing), former professor at the renowned Shanghai Conservatory of Music, has been teaching and playing the yang-qin (guqin, qin) for 30+ years. Solo albums: Collection of Yang-qin Solos (1992), Masterpieces Performed by Yang-qin Masters

Kiyoshi Shomura recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of his career as a guitarist, with a series of recitals throughout Japan and the release of his album Milonga del Angel, the latest of his many recordings for the Toshiba EMI Label.

Haruna Ishola and his Apala Group (Baba Ngani Agba)